The Vanishing

Synopsis

Barney teaches chemisty, and is planning to abduct a woman. Despite methodical planning and countless trial runs he always manages to mess things up. Then Diane, who is traveling with her boyfriend Jeff, unwittingly makes herself an easy target. The story is mainly from Jeff's viewpoint, as he searches for Diane. Barney watches him.

Barney teaches chemisty, and is planning to abduct a woman. Despite methodical planning and countless trial runs he always manages to mess things up. Then Diane, who is traveling with her boyfriend Jeff, unwittingly makes herself an easy target. The story is mainly from Jeff's viewpoint, as he searches for Diane. Barney watches him.

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Gafke 6 / 10

So-so

Had I not seen the original Dutch film "Spoorloos" I might have given
"The Vanishing" more credit. But it's a weak remake which gives
American audiences all the gore that the original lacked and a
reasonably happy ending which was nowhere to be found in the original.

"The Vanishing" is the story of Jeff, whose claustrophobic girlfriend
Diane goes missing from a gas station and never returns. For years,
Jeff is plagued with guilt and never gives up on the search for Diane,
not even after meeting Rita, with whom he begins a serious
relationship. But Rita soon becomes sick of Jeff's obsession and leaves
him after a bitter confrontation. It is at this point that Jeff's
obsession pays off and Barney comes looking for him. Barney knows what
happened to Diane, because he is the one who kidnapped her. But Barney
will only tell Jeff what happened if Jeff agrees to go through
everything that Diane went through without knowing in advance what that
might be. Jeff agrees and disappears, and now it is Rita who is
obsessed with discovering what has happened to him.

This isn't a terrible film by any means. The performances are great,
particularly by Keifer Sutherland as Jeff. His portrayal of the
guilt-ridden, haunted man is near perfect. There are some great moments
of comedy provided by Park Overall as Rita's friend Lynn. But "The
Vanishing" lacks the power of "Spoorloos" despite a harrowing scene in
which Jeff learns the fate of Diane firsthand, a scene which is
identical to the original. Still, I don't understand why when a foreign
film is remade for American audiences, it is almost always assumed that
we want more gore and a happy ending, thank you very much. Both cheapen
the story in this case. "Spoorloos" was a film of terrible sorrow and
grim reality, both of which will (or at least SHOULD) leave even the
most hardened horror fan shaken. "The Vanishing" is slightly less
effective, going in for cheap thrills and a kick-ass finale a la
Hollywood.

I would recommend seeing it ONLY if you're going to watch "Spoorloos"
as well.

Reviewed by zippyflynn2 1 / 10

WATCH THE ORIGINAL NOT THIS POINTLESS REMAKE!

Skip this Hollywood version, a real piece of garbage. A cheap insult to
the brilliant original "Spoorloos", or by the English title also called
"The Vanishing". It completely misses the mark in typical, grotesque
Hollywood fashion, usually due to a bunch of talentless, corporate bean
counters who haven't the vaguest idea about anything artistic, they
just look for the "successful formula" and want it applied to
everything to glean a profit. Much like the awful "The Scarlet Letter"
made in 1995, which twisted the original story around so much to suit
the MacDonaldsland crowd, that it became an aberration, not even a
bastardization, but a pile of goop that has been sort of shaped similar
but does not look, feel or even remotely resemble the spirit of the
original. Except that movie at least had Gary Oldman, who is
interesting to watch in anything he does. This dog has nothing going
for it, even the usually very talented Jeff Bridges is an
embarrassment. Great tragedy is not nor never should be "the feel good
movie of the year" but rather takes one or more of the sadly much too
frequent tragic events in life and allows the reader/viewer to draw
meaning and insight into the human condition.

Do yourself a great favor if you're looking for a rental and skip this
grotesque garbage and pick up the original made in a Dutch/French
collaboration in 1988. That is a great film. This is a horrific mess.

Reviewed by Sam 5 / 10

The original is way better; evidence against the Hollywood film system

This film is way inferior to the Dutch original (the fact that the same director directed both is another story). This movie has obviously been toned down for American audiences, which is insulting if you've seen them both (I stumbled onto the remake on cable late at night). The original is a thriller in the truest sense of the word, and is far more intelligent, disturbing, and scary than the Hollywood version. I bet the producers assumed American audiences couldn't handle disturbing well so they gave us a more friendly version, very insulting. If you're going to see this version, make sure you rent the original too and watch it first, just to see how much the remake pales in comparison. If you don't like psychological, disturbing, riveting, and no-downbeat-endings in your thrillers, the 1993 version is for you. But if you want to be truly blown away, the Dutch original is very highly recommended over this one.